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Rodriguez prepared to pitch through pain

Rodriguez prepared to pitch through pain

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K-Rod exits with injury 1:14

8/16/13: On a Dexter Fowler single to right, pitcher Francisco Rodriguez injures himself and has to leave the game in the eighth

By Brittany Ghiroli
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MLB.com |

BALTIMORE -- Veteran reliever Francisco Rodriguez has no intention of going on the disabled list, and he will continue to manage his strained right groin and remain an option for the Orioles going forward.

Rodriguez exited Friday's game with the injury -- though he later said the issue had been bothering him for about a week before then -- and told manager Buck Showalter the following day that he could go two innings if needed. Still, Showalter gave him two days off.

Rodriguez pitched an inning in Monday's 4-3 loss.

"I felt it when I started warming up," said Rodriguez, who loaded the bases in the eighth inning but got a key double play from first baseman Chris Davis. "Warming up, and [during] the first batter, it was definitely [there], but the second batter I just put that aside, don't worry about anything. I just didn't feel anything [after that]. But when my body cools off, I definitely do [feel pain]."

Rodriguez, acquired in a trade with Milwaukee last month, is a 12-year veteran, and he's well aware of the daily rigors of a 162-game regular season, particularly when a club is in a postseason race, as the Orioles are.

"That's something that, yeah, I really had to learn, whether it's soreness, pain or injury," he said of being able to avoid the DL and help his team. "It's just pain [with the strained groin]. I don't think it's an injury. Every ballplayer over the course of the season will go through that. It happened to me, got to fight through it. I'll be all right."

Rodriguez, who had five scoreless appearances during the team's West Coast trip, is 1-0 with a 4.22 ERA in 11 games for the Orioles. Over 10 2/3 innings, he has allowed five earned runs on 11 hits, with three walks and 16 strikeouts.